"Two of the league's most talented big men on one team. A Tall order for the Nuggets, no matter who else takes the court for the Pelicans"
Pre-Game Thoughts: Anytime you face a team with two or more legitimate superstars, something that all too frequently occurs in the Western Conference and also something these Nuggets can not boast of having themselves, the conversation of victory pretty much begins and ends with to what degree will Denver be able to contain Boogie & The Brow. One thing Denver has going for them is the fact that they have been off since Tuesday night to lick their wounds over the bad loss to PDX, but more importantly to get Harris healthy. I honestly don't care what happens so long as the Nuggets win without injury and their young PG combination, the M&M's pwn Janightmere at every opportunity they are given. I shouldn't have so much angst towards Jameer; he's by all accounts a great guy, and self deprecating. I should have more of my ire pointed at Coach Malone who all but admitted to over-using him as a crutch, stopping short of saying "to a fault" (which he clearly did the last two seasons IMHO) this week when it came to light that which most of us already knew; management and ownership wanted to go with the two young 7th overall picks in the draft and in order to make this happen they had to let go the human fire-hydrant that was standing in the way of development, in order to save Malone from himself.
In what was likely the Nuggets best game of the year against OKC, it was on national TV as is tonight's match-up, so lets hope that does something to fire up the good guys and they can have a repeat performance.
Geaux Nuggets!
Denver Roster:
Will "The People's Champion" Barton,
Juancho "Ironically, No Room For A Nickname" Hernangomez
Richard "The Dragon Slayer" Jefferson
Kenneth "The Manimal" Faried
Trey "Bien" Lyles
Darrell "Darth" Arthur
Tyler "Not just Anunobody" Lydon
Nikola "Big Honey" Jokic
Mason "Plumdog Millionaire" Plumlee
Michael "Mr Imagination" Malone
New Orleans Roster:
Rajon "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" Rondo
E'Twaun "Bocoup N'Orleans" Moore
Omer Asik "Not What You Can Do For Your Country, Or You'll Be Banned Like Enes Kanter"
Update: Gary Harris is back in the starting lineup for the Nuggets. As for NO, Hill is out with a hamstring injury, Jackson with a foot injury, Ajinca with a Knee injury, Asik with the creeping crud & Allen is questionable with a Knee injury.
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Data: Open this link in a new tab for the definition of TPM™
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TPM™ Game 15 NO
Jamal Murray: +33
Emmanuel Mudiay: +20
Monte Morris: N/A
Gary Harris: +22
Will Barton: +8
Malik Beasley: +9
Torrey Craig: N/A
Wilson Chandler: +14
Juancho Hernangomez: +0
Richard Jefferson: N/A
Paul Millsap: +22
Kenneth Faried: -1
Trey Lyles: +2
Darrell Arthur: N/A
Tyler Lydon: N/A
Nikola Jokic: +28
Mason Plumlee +11
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Total TPM™ starting Game 1 vs. Uta
Jamal Murray: 15 Games +158
Emmanuel Mudiay: 15 Games +206
Monte Morris: 0 Games +0
Gary Harris: 13 Games +159
Will Barton: 15 Games +144
Malik Beasley: 15 Games +18
Torrey Craig: 0 Games +0
Wilson Chandler: 15 Games +97
Juancho Hernangomez: 4 Games -16
Richard Jefferson: 4 Games -7
Paul Millsap: 15 Games +174
Kenneth Faried: 13 Games +42
Trey Lyles: 10 Games +16
Darrell Arthur: 2 Games -4
Tyler Lydon: 0 Games +0
Nikola Jokic: 15 Games +237
Mason Plumlee: 15 Games +54
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Avg. TPM™ Per Game
Jamal Murray: +10.53
Emmanuel Mudiay: +13.73
Monte Morris: N/A
Gary Harris: +12.23
Will Barton: +9.60
Malik Beasley: +1.20
Torrey Craig: N/A
Wilson Chandler: +6.47
Juancho Hernangomez: -4.00
Richard Jefferson: -1.75
Paul Millsap: +11.60
Kenneth Faried: +3.23 (mis-entered in last game. math error corrected)
Trey Lyles: +1.60
Darrell Arthur: -2.00
Tyler Lydon: N/A
Nikola Jokic: +15.80
Mason Plumlee: +3.60
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TPM™ Per-Minute Splits Through Game 14:
*Credit to DomP on the Spreadsheet. It's as if my (very nerdy) baby (TPM™) is learning to speak
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Analysis:
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Qtr1- The Nuggets are back to their original starting lineup, with the return of Gary Harris. NO counters with Boogie, The Brow, Holliday, Cunningham and are rounded out, by Rondo. Ok, I promise that's enough music nerd humor for the night, it's just pretty irresistible when facing a team from such a rich, musical environment as New Orleans. I'm not certain what the special occasion is but Ally has brought out a new red, lacey, strapless number for this one, managed to match her lipstick with it and looks absolutely stunning tonight. Ok, now I'm switching over to the ESPN telecast for an outside perspective that doesn't include the insufferable Shaq & Barkely shit show. Denver seems focused which is good to see after a long lay off. For those following along at home, the score is now Murray 7 on 3-3 shooting, NO-4 (Jameer zero), at 8:23. The offense is running more smoothly than it has for the last two games with Harris back in the lineup. Denver is up 20-4 on the strength of a 13-0 run at 7:14. NO can not buy a jumper, which is all they are taking. Sap is already +13 TPM and the Nuggets lead 25-4 at 6:20. Denver has a 10-1 advantage in rebounding. I really don't understand why the Pel's are not calling a timeout, down 23 at 4:48. Bartlee check in at this time. Denver can do no wrong and are firing on all cylinders. Sap, Murray and Harris are all in double digits in both scoring and TPM at 2:20. Jokic is also in double figures in TPM. Mudiay checks in at this point, playing alongside Murray. This has yet to work this season. It asks too much of the 20 year old Murray who is trying to master the PG position. Illustrating this, NO scores 8 straight and Denver has three straight turnovers. Denver has 4 players in double digits TPM, Harris +10, Jokic +12, and Sap/Murray both +13 as the Nuggets lead 37-19 however, momentum resides with NO due to this questionable lineup to close out the 1st.
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Qtr2- Faried is in to start the 2nd. Nelson is getting the credit from Hubie Brown on the ESPN broadcast for this run, not bad rotational decisions by Denver or Davis who's the one doing everything. The Pels have cut it to 16 at 10:31. Chandler gets a 4 point opportunity to stem the tide, but misses the freebie. The offense and defense are back on track for the Nuggets now that they are no longer undersized at every position, with Chandler now in for Murray. Faried does not have his head in this game thus far. Jokic hammers the bejuzus out of Boogie who initially charges at him before realizing that that's something Sac-town Boogie would do, and he wisely calms himself. Without my noticing he was even in the game, save for a pass that bounced squarely off of his melon, Diallo has managed to accrue three fouls. He's the only man with any sort of foul dilemma. Meanwhile, if Jameer does absolutely nothing in the forest... Boogie is utterly dis-interested in defense. Mudiay is not functioning well offensively tonight, but is showing well in rotational defense (when not involved in P&R with Faried). Denver's lead is down to 13 at 6:56 as Davis is killing the Nuggets inside and out. NO is on a 10-2 run. Faried is finally coming alive to some degree. This small ball lineup (Mudiay, Barton, Faried, Sap and Chandler) depends on Barton to score, Faried to defend one of two superstars and that is poor strategy. Such weird rotations tonight considering the dominance exhibited by our more traditional pairings. That's bad in-game coaching. Mudiay and Faried had better be on the bench following this commercial break and Murray and a Big man to battle Boogie and the Brow (both in the game) had better be in. Indeed, Murray and Jokic are in at 5:05. Silly open court foul by Jokic at 3:57, his 2nd. The Nuggets lead 56-41 at said time. All five starters are now in for the Nuggets. Jokic is having a bounce-back game in terms of all around play, and is actually playing decent D. Boogie gets his 3rd foul at 3:00. The lead is now 9 due largely to Davis' dominance, and simply put, rotations so bad that they palpably changed the momentum on two occasions drastically. Or was that Jameer? Denver is down to only two players in double figures TPM, Jokic +19 and Murray +20, but cling to an eight point lead, 64-56 at the half.
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Halftime: Smoke break? Don't mind if I do!
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Qtr3- It's Good to see Rondo in the game since he was fouled pretty hard at the end of the 1st half, and appeared to have been injured. Things are getting chippy as Sap and Boogie lock horns, followed by Big Honey popping Davis in the eye with his head, which on second glance was completely inadvertent. IMHO it wasn't even a foul, just incidental contact due to Davis crowding Jokic as he made his spin move. Tough break for the Joker. WOW; Davis is coming out due to concussion protocol. No one wants to see his night end this way. Let's hope that's not the case. Jokic is getting much better at tipping rebounds that he can't procure to teammates. He's just such an intelligent player. Boogie nabs his 4th foul at 10:38. That could be huge. Jokic has a 2d at 9:30. Murray is carrying the Nuggets with 23, and NO is helping them out by again going perimeter, as Denver stretches the lead to 16 at 8:28. THIS time, Gentry wisely calls a time out, sensing the momentum of the Nuggets becoming too overwhelming at the moment. Sap and Big Honey both have an outside chance at a 3d, which oddly seems to occur on the same nights this season. Perhaps there is nothing odd about it; when the ball is moving, they are just a much better team. This is the best I've seen Jokic play on the defensive end all season, and it's showing up in his now +28 TPM. Harris is 7-7 from the floor. Consecutive 3's by he and Sap, cause NO to blow another timeout, this one with Denver up 20 at 6:18. Jameer checks in at 4:45. Oh boy... Now the Nuggets are fucked! NO has no answer for Murray. Denver leads 95-71 at 2:30. Diallo gets his 4th foul at 2:11 as we are informed that The Brow is out for the game with a concussion. That truly is unfortunate for them as he's been nearly unstoppable on this night. Pel's fans, please don't let this sour you on Jokic. It was entirely inadvertent. Malone has learned from his mistake, and this time replaces Murray WITH Mudiay and doesn't play them together. Mudiay looks far better as a result. Denver is paced in TPM by Harris +17, Millsap + 22, Jokic +28 & Murray +36 and are doing what you have to do in the unfortunate case of an injury to the other team's best player; blowing NO out, 106-80 after three.
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Qtr4- Do not let off the gas pedal as is your wont Nuggets! Chandler becomes the 5th Nugget in double digits, additionally logging a 2d. Malone apparently wants to tempt fate and re-inserts Murray to play with Mudiay. Why? NO immediately scores 7 straight. Why must things be so blatantly obvious before this coach "gets it?" PUT YOUR PLAYERS IN THE BEST POSSIBLE SCENARIOS IN WHICH TO SUCCEED! Why do you hate your job so much Malone? Make that a 9-0 run with the M&M's playing together. Mudiay finally scores a layup to end the run. Things are starting to stabilize a bit, now that Jameer has decided to start involving himself with the offense while simultaneously "playing" defense. Denver is now going with 4 guards and Plumlee, up 24 at 7:15. Beasley gets set to check in at 5:03 up 25 and that should all but do it. On this night they got away with wonky rotations due to NO's shallow bench and especially the unfortunate injury to The Brow, so I won't complain too much more about that, but lets not make it a habit. Lyles and Juancho check in at 3:57. Mudiay is the 6th Nugget in double digits. For the first time Denver has 7 Players in double figures in TPM. Also for the first time, 5 of which are above 20 and one is even above 30, as Denver scores an NBA season high 146, to NO's 114, and win going away.
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Final Thoughts- Up and down game, but you can't be upset with the results. More nationally televised games please and thank you.
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